Hellbent

Russ Flatt

The Engine Room
Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Massey University, Block 1, Access via Gate C,
Wallace Street, Wellington

20 - 26 August 2022

Currently studying towards the completion of a Master’s in Māori Visual Arts at Toioho ki Āpiti. Russ Flatt uses photography to explore the cultural dynamics of contemporary Aotearoa. Often casting fictional scenarios with very real implications. Flatt’s recent approach draws together socio-cultural symbology so that we might better contend with the question of “How we might get along?”.

Within Hellbent, a series of work which began in 2019, Flatt explores the tenuous relationship between LGBQTI+ communities and evangelical Christianity. Flatt’s imagery confronts recent public discourse amidst a context where one-in-five young LGBQTI+ New Zealanders has attempted suicide, and when many Māori and Pacific religious leaders appear to be promoting homophobic messages.

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